


Paper Stars

by ConfessionForAnotherTime



Series: Aquarium Therapy [3]
Category: Red vs. Blue
Genre: Abandonment, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Anger Management, Communication Failure, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Other, Relationship Conflicts, Therapy, Trust Issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-30
Updated: 2015-11-30
Packaged: 2018-05-04 03:10:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,546
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5318222
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ConfessionForAnotherTime/pseuds/ConfessionForAnotherTime
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After Carolina and Sharkface make their way out of Armonia, they settle into a quiet life, even if their relationship has its ups and downs.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Paper Stars

**Author's Note:**

  * For [anneapocalypse](https://archiveofourown.org/users/anneapocalypse/gifts).



The jar was half-full. Normally by noon, the jar had maybe one or two paper stars in it, but today it was half full. Judging by the noise in the back yard and shouts that followed it, Carolina could guess how the day was going to go for them. She made her way to the back porch and frowned. Today the jar would be full.

They snapped around when they heard the screen door open to the kitchen of their modest house, having settled into it after the war had ended and they could both just relax. Even if relaxing for them didn’t happen as often as they thought it would. When the two of them found that writing things out was more helpful, scribbling those little words of happiness or pain that conveyed more constructive emotion and less damage to the house than a fist through the wall, a scorched sink, or a broken door jam, they kept the ritual and expanded on it.

“Mako, do I want to ask?” Carolina took a step down the small steps, cautious in her approach to the person she could lay out on the ground easily if she wanted to… but she wouldn’t. She hadn’t needed to do that in a long time and she didn’t want to go back several steps with her trust with them.

They shot her a look and she took a step back, heel bumping against the steps that she had just walked down. She waited a moment, searching their eyes and trying to find something that would tell her just what was making them so upset right now. When nothing came, she climbed the three steps back into the house, crossed the kitchen, and grabbed the small jar, a few sheets of paper and a pen, their pen specifically. When she returned to them, she didn’t expect the bone-crushing hug she was enveloped in. Her fingers twitched as she tried to hold on to the items she had brought for them.

“Not right now,” they said, holding her tight and pressing a kiss to her shoulder. “I need you to go right now. Soon though.” They let her go, an audible grit of teeth as they went back to the small destruction they had caused in the back yard. Carolina set the jar on the steps, making quick eye contact with them before she disappeared back inside. Today wasn’t a day for her. It was for them. The twisted nails and broken planks of wood would be going into their garbage and kindling pile.

\---

Carolina waited for them to calm down, staring out from the window that overlooked the separate workshop where the two of them kept their pet projects. Woodworking, her motorcycle, their chainsaw. She hadn’t seen them working with their projects in a while and usually they carved instead of going with the series of bangs that she kept hearing. She sipped her coffee, watching from the window. She just wanted to help them. She got up from the couch, heading over to the counter where she had kept the paper and her pen, writing down ‘I want to know how to help you.’ She folded the star up, dropping the little green creation into the jar, then padded her way back to the couch to watch the workshop. She could see their dog making laps back and forth from the doors of the workshop back outside, tongue lolled out and barking happily. Carolina considered briefly if she should but went against it, leaving her perch at the window to grab a blanket and a book. They would come in when they were ready. She couldn’t make them do anything just yet.

Carolina woke up with a start almost an hour after she had laid down on the couch to read to wait for her partner to have a better day. She couldn’t hear them in the house at all, but that didn’t mean they weren’t there. That just meant they were being quiet like usual. She set her book down, got up and went to search to see if they were still outside. She didn’t see the office lit up at all, and she frowned. The light from the outdoor workshop was still illuminated and she headed there first. Their dog, Ellis, had take up to sleeping on the deck that they had built together after buying the house in the first place, offering a small woof in acknowledgement. Carolina approached the workshop, looking for signs she should keep her distance. Their back was to her, so she had to do her best not to startle them.

“Mako?” she called out, approaching slowly. Subtle in their body language, she saw it was safe to approach, shuffling her feet so they would hear her coming over the concrete floor. “What’s going on?”

They didn’t answer her at first and it wasn’t until she was right behind them, reaching over to hug them, her arms encircling their waist when they finally said something.

“Just… not a good day. Ellis has been sitting with me though. I just didn’t want you to worry so I came out here to work. I just miss them all. So I wanted to make something instead of dwelling… I wanted to work on my projects some more and I started with the paper mache. That was a mistake.” Carolina listened to their every word, not offering anything without a specific question for her to answer. “The newspaper I was working with it… it. I thought I saw her. Naomi.” Carolina stood there in quiet realization. “I had already torn the page to make the strips so by the time I was able to go back, all I could find that fit was a name that wasn’t hers. Naomi Hartford.”

Carolina’s blood ran cold. “Do… was there a picture to go with the article at all?” Mako stared at her strangely before handing over the offending pieces. Carolina pieced the bits of newspaper together. The woman looked so familiar but she knew it couldn’t have been her. She wasn’t alive. She watched CT die. Carolina let out a long, steady breath. “Maybe it’s time we both go inside and write down the bad, pepper it with some good and make some cocoa? Sound good?” Mako nodded in response, grabbing the birdhouse they had managed to make before the paper mache project made things go from bad to worse.

They set the birdhouse on the kitchen table once they were inside and pulled her in for a tight hug. Despite not adding any stressors to the day, it had ended up hard for both of them in ways they hadn’t been able to counter like they usually tried to.

“Nat?” they asked, letting her go enough to stare down into those bright green eyes. She cocked her head. “You know I love you right.”

“I know. I know you do.” She gave them a kiss and mouthed the words against their lips. “Today has just been a hard day for both of us.”

“What did you end up finding in the attic?” they asked as they guided her to the couch. They grabbed the jar of stars and set it on the coffee table next to them, pulling out the small drawer to find more paper for their project that generally calmed them with the help of communication. Mako pulled her against their chest, petting her hair after loosening it from the ponytail.

“I found a lot of pictures that I thought had been lost after my mom died. A lot of memories I didn’t think I would ever face again because the other person who shared them allowed himself to be too consumed by them to continue living. I wish you could have met her. She probably would have hated you at first. But she always wanted the best for me.” Carolina hugged them close. “And now I have that.”

Mako wound their fingers in her hair, combing through it and listening to her story, taking in their own breath at the idea of remembrance.

“Stupid question, but do you miss her?” They waited for her scoff. Instead she nodded.

“Everyday. Do you miss your family?”

Mako clenched their teeth a little, trying to let it go that she was part of the reason why a good number of them were gone in the first place. “Yes, but I can’t do anything about that now. I trusted them with everything. Trust isn’t just given for no fucking reason, Lina.” They looked away from her, as if not seeing her meant that she wasn’t the one responsible.

Mako pet her hair either way, shifting a little as she grabbed the jar and brought it back over to the two of them. She nestled the jar by their legs, grabbing one of the stars to hand to them.

“We haven’t opened any up in a few days and I think that’s contributing to the tension the both of us have been feeling and after our counseling session with Dr. Astor, I think we should keep with the routine if only to ensure that we aren’t hurting one another intentionally. Is that okay?” She looked up at them, waiting for an answer.

“That’s fine with me. I’m glad we found a counselor that works for both of us. Separately and together.” They took the star from her and opened it up. “Today, I pet a dog.” They gave her a quizzical look. “Did you pet a dog on your run?”

Carolina shook her head. “No? Though, Wash and Caboose were over the other day so maybe one of them dropped that in.” Sharkface clenched their teeth at the mention of Wash.

Carolina took the offered paper and smoothed it out to lay it on their chest as she grabbed another star to unfold. “I’m sorry I made you jealous by ignoring you and talking to Wash most of the day.” Carolina sighed. “It wasn’t intentional. I hadn’t seen him in a while and you’re who I care about.”

“Well, you have a funny way of showing it sometimes.” They looked away from her and she grabbed their chin, making them face her.

“Look. I didn’t think that hanging out with him would make you jealous. I know for next time so that the three of us can do something together. Would that make it easier?” she asked, her tone starting hard and softening the more she spoke. They looked away for a moment.

“It might help. You know I don’t like him that much.” They smoothed out the paper and huffed, but accepted the kiss she gave.

“I know. That’s initially why I would leave you out when he was here. However, if my company is more important than your dislike for him, then we can see about making it work for all of us. Just be nice okay?” Mako nodded, grabbing for another star. As they unfolded it, their face lit up.

“Okay, I haven’t had a chance to tell you about this one yet, but I got us tickets to go shark diving this summer off the coast. I made sure to check that it wouldn’t interfere with any of the classes that you teach at the fitness center and everything.” They about bounced with glee from under her, showing her the small orange square of paper with the writing inside.

Mako unfolded another square of paper and frowned at it, laying it flat on their chest without reading it to her. She gave them a confused look, trying to see what the paper said, but they stopped her, batting her hand away.

“It isn’t important. Pick another one.”

Carolina just stared, grabbing the bright blue paper from them and pulling it into her line of sight.

“This is one I wrote. Why don’t you want to talk about it? Is it because of what it says? ‘You never talk to me when things are okay. All we do is argue.’ Why do you just want to skip over this one?” She forced herself to not make them make eye contact with her, waiting for them to look at her. It was a long ten minutes before they said anything and Carolina had laid their head on their chest.

“Sometimes, I don’t want to talk. You do. You want action when I want to sit and think and process. I’m trying to be less impulsive and think about what I want to say. You want to find an answer right then and since I want to not deal with it right then, you push the issue. You make me deal with it then, which leads to the fights. You walked away earlier, which was what I needed then.” They kept petting her hair out of nerves, waiting for her to argue it.

Carolina frowned at the new information. “I can do better not to press something right then, but I at least need a signal from you that you need some time to not deal with it right then. Okay?”

They nodded. “I think I can live with that.” They grabbed the paper back out of her hand, and laid it on their chest when she sat up.

They continued to unfold more of the stars, laughing at a few of them and the tension started to melt a little more the longer they went through the jar. Carolina regaled them with beaten time on her most recent 5k run while they shared. Opening up a few more, Carolina blushed, letting them read about how proud they were that the neighbors hard heard them going down on her in the next house over and had come to complain while she was off at work.

“Hey, it’s not everyday that I can make you moan so loud that the neighbors can hear in the house over.” They threw her a grin. “I think that was the same day we went to the aquarium too. That was a good day. Such a good day.”

After sharing laughter over Mako’s pleased attempts at making her breakfast in bed and her praises over them not burning the house down, the two of them refolded the stars they had opened for the day and strung them up to decorate their living room with the others. The two found the exercise calming if only to be able to talk out their problems in a way that could help.

Carolina stood in the kitchen, eyeing the birdhouse that they had brought into the house but hadn’t shown her. when they came in initially.

“Just something I was making to take my mind off things. I tried. I just didn’t want to think about Naomi possibly being out there when I haven’t even bothered to look for her. You know how I like to keep my hands busy.” They turned away from her, absently unloading the dishwasher. “I just needed something to build. Keep myself busy.”

“Why’s that? Besides the obvious,” she asked, coming up behind them to hug them.

“Those who can’t build will burn, Carolina.” They stroked her hair, kissing her, contented.

“Don’t misquote Bradbury at me, you pretentious fuck.” She kissed their back.

 


End file.
